Fights and Families: 24/7 Penguins-Capitals

I’d like to start with a quick apology. I recently took issue with a commenter who questioned the level of my hockey knowledge following last week’s 24/7 writeup. Unfortunately, I addressed him as Tom. Perhaps I was blinded by anger but, more likely, I didn’t care enough to double check. Turns out, the commenter’s name was Tony, not Tom. So, I would like to apologize to all the Toms out there. And as for Tony.. FUCK YOU

-This weeks episode got off to a great start. I’m talking, of course, about the use of Boston’s “Foreplay/Long Time” as the soundtrack to the Penguins arrival in Philly. The slow motion shots of guys walking off the plane were pretty great.

-We heard a lot about the culture of hockey fights. First, it was Sidney Crosby who discussed a recent fight with Pascal DuPuis. That’s the sort of insight you look for from these shows. Hearing Crosby detail the conversation with his fight opponent (you really want to fight? Do you want to keep your helmet on or off?) adds an interesting dynamic to what is often times as much mutually agreed upon theater as it is actual anger.

-On the other side of the spectrum is the Caps’ Matt Hendricks, who is literally fighting to keep his roster spot. He explains that he didn’t think he could make it as an offensive player, so he’s taken on the role of enforcer. Coach Bruce Boudreau has to tell him that he doesn’t have to fight every night.

-Later, we hear the ref telling players to clear some room so the Pen’s Arron Asham can fight with the Rangers’ Sean Avery. He even takes the goal off it’s moorings so it doesn’t get in the way.

-It’s worth noting that the Rangers are 2-0 on this show.

-When we were kids, SCP commenter BShrek and I watched the movie Spaceballs with a piece of graph paper in front of us so we could count the curse words. There were 23. We thought that was a lot. Following the Caps loss to the Ducks in this week’s episode, Bruce Boudreau said “fucking” 8 times in 30 seconds. And that was in a pep talk to his team. Is he the hockey equivalent of Rex Ryan? I’m not sure. I haven’t seen his wife’s feet yet.

-It was great to see Mario Lemieux make an appearance. And it was cool to see how excited the Pens coaches and other staff members were to get a chance to play with an all time great, even if he is 45.

-I didn’t live in Communist Russia, so I don’t know how hard the living was. But if Alexander Ovechkin is 25, why do his parents look like their 80?

-We also see Dan Bylsma and Craig Adams with their families. Adorable. But the producers missed a familial goldmine when they only gave brief mention to Pens forward Jordan Staal. Yes, he’s injured. But, still, it might be worth mentioning that he has two brothers in the league and a fourth on the way. This was an especially strange oversight when you consider the Pens were playing the Rangers, who’s top defenseman this season is Jordan’s brother, Marc.

– As someone who wakes up at exactly 7:28 and leaves for the gym at exactly 7:39 and must be in the shower by exactly 8:58 and leaves for work at exactly 10:07 every day, Sidney Crosby’s game day routine makes absolute sense to me. How can you be successful if you don’t eat your peanut butter and jelly sandwich at the right time? It would be lunacy.

-I think there’s a real question as to whether this series may do more harm than good for the Winter Classic. The attention on the players is great, but the Pens look great and, with the exception of the last game against Ottawa, the Caps have looked terrible . Are people going to want to tune into a game that’s shaping up to be an unfair fight?